Haunted House
by Kazuki Naruse
Summary: Ayano drags Kano and Kido to the cultural festival at the school where her father teaches. KanoKido! (And some ShinAya.) Please review! I hope you like it! :)
1. Chapter 1

"The cultural festival starts today!" Ayano ran into the room where her adopted siblings gathered, grinning excitedly. Shintarou walked in behind her, scrolling down something on his phone. He stopped abruptly and slipped the device into the pocket of his red and white jacket. "Dad said we could all go!" Ayano continued, looking from SHintarou to Kido and Kano.

Tsubomi ducked her head and disappeared. Going to any place with a large amount of people made her nervous. Shuuya reached out and gently put his hand on her shoulder, seeing her even though she was invisible to the rest.

"Sounds like fun." Shuuya said, appearing to smile. To everyone else, he seemed to be grinning and sitting still with his hands in his lap, however he was actually frowning worriedly and trying to comfort Tsubomi. He could feel her shaking beneath his hand.

Ayano looked around, unable to see Tsubomi but knowing she was there. There was one other person who was missing... "Where's Kousuke?" she asked, squatting to look under the table to her right. Kousuke always hid there when he was upset, but not today. Today he wasn't even in the room.

"He-ah-went out a few hours ago." Kano said, glancing at Kido. She was staring at the ground.

"Out where?" Ayano asked, disappointment clear in her voice. She looked around the room again.

"Shopping." Kano said. He knew Kousuke Seto had gone to some sort of forest (he had never been very specific about the exact location). Kano had no idea what he did there nor why he went, but he knew he had to keep Kousuke's secret from Ayano and Tsubomi. Seto had trusted Shuuya to never tell anyone, especially not Ayano. Knowing Seto was alone and out of town would only worry her.

Ayano frowned, disappointed that Seto would not be joining them at the cultural festival. She shook her head, forcing the thoughts out of her mind. "Dad said he's been teaching two students he wants us to meet. He's been up late at night creating a shooting game or something for their part in the cultural festival. Won't that be fun?" When she spoke, Ayano looked from Shuuya to Shintarou, eagerly grinning at them.

"Hm." Shintarou grunted, not looking at anyone. He had pulled out his iPod and was putting in his earbuds, ready to drown the world out with music.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Shuuya responded, appearing to be excitedly fidgeting. In reality, the deceiver was just as worried as Kido. In fact, he was worried for her. He had never been to a cultural festival, but he knew one thing at least one class did every year. Knowing Ayano, she would drag all four of them to the one place Tsubomi should never go.

"Come on, we should get going before the train leaves! Get ready and meet me out front!" Ayano left the room, Shintarou following closely behind her, still not looking up.

Kido reappeared behind Kano. "Shuuya..." she said, brushing his hand off her shoulder.

There were a lot of things he could say to her, a lot of things he could use to try and comfort her, but none of the words left his mouth.

Instead, he said something so stupid Tsubomi punched him. Punching was more or less her way of expressing amusement, annoyance, and love for Shuuya Kano. It was the way she communicated with him, almost like a secret language only the two of them shared.

She left the room, leaving Shuuya alone. He smiled and stood, exiting the room a moment later to return to his own and change. Ayano was waiting and there was no way he could back out. Tsubbomi would need him, but he didn't tell her that. He couldn't tell her Ayano would drag them into a haunted house. He wouldn't be able to reassure her, to tell her he'd be there for her, no matter what. He wanted to let her know, to tell her all those things, but he couldn't. After all, he was the deceiver. He was meant to deceive; and deceive he did.

His eyes shown red as he walked out the front door towards Ayano, Shintarou, and Tsubomi Kido.


	2. Chapter 2

The school was large and packed with students. Each classroom had done their own unique stand or activity.

When the group of four entered the school, they were amazed at the wide variety of stands that greeted them on either side of the path outside of the outside of the school. Colorful signs advertised just about anything under the sun, from plays to food stands. A banner near the entrance welcomed guests from other schools.

"Wow! This is incredible!" Ayano exclaimed, her eyes bright with excitement and delight. "Isn't this cool Shintarou?" She smiled and snatched his arm, endearingly wrapping her arms around his and resting her head on his shoulder. "Where do you want to go first?" she asked him, grinning.

He shrugged and pulled out his phone. "Seems rather boring to me." he said, looking around with a bored expression.

"Don't say that!" Ayano said, playfully punching his arm. "What about you two, anywhere in particular you guys want to go?"

Sparing Tsubomi the responsibility of answering, Shuuya said, "I'm starving. Let's go look at the food stands!" He appeared to be grinning, though he was worriedly watching Tsubomi.

"But you ate breakfast an hour ago!"Ayano protested.

"So what? I want to buy some food. I'll meet up with you and the grouch later!" Kano waved and took Kido's wrist, leading her away from Ayano and Shintarou.

"Fine, but don't have too much fun without us!" Ayano yelled after them. Kano raised his arm in the air to signify having heard her. He glanced at Kido who had pulled her hood over her head and was watching the crowds.

She hated, loathed, being in crowded places and yet she was stuck here, dragged into another one of Ayano's crazy ideas. She nervously glanced around at the mass of people swarming the stands, wishing she could disappear. Her power was unreliable in places with a high concentration of people. If anyone bumped into her, like they were doing nearly every second, her ability was negated.

Kano wanted to pull her close, to wrap his arm around her shaking shoulders and tell her everything would be fine because he was there for her, but he couldn't. They didn't have that kind of relationship, not yet anyways.

He walked ahead of her towards an area relatively free of students. The area lead into a short alleyway that revealed an empty clearing. There were no stands lining the clean pathway. A few students wandered in behind Kano and Kido but they left as soon as they saw there was nothing to do.

For the pairing however, this area was perfect. Kido finally relaxed, leaning against a wall and looking at the bright blue sky. Kano walked over to her, grinning. "Anywhere in particular you want to go?" he asked, tilting his head to the right.

"Home." Kido said. Her hands were shaking in her pockets. She couldn't stand being in crowded locations. She wanted to disappear, to hide in a corner of her room. She always did so when she was scared.

"Come on, I'm sure there's something you want to do. What about that shooting game Ayano mentioned?" Shuuya asked, leaning his right shoulder against the wall. Seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer, he added, "I'll text Ayano." and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

A few minutes later the duo was greeted by a shy boy dressed in a school uniform, standing outside the door with the number Ayano had indicated. Kido had disappeared as soon as they entered the empty hallway. The boy in front of the sliding door had short dark hair a a small mole underneath his left eye. He fidgeted frequently, constantly knotting and unknotting his hands and looking down the hallway in both directions.

He smiled at Kano and opened the door to the darkened room, talking to the girl at the other end. "Are you ready now, Takane?" His voice was soft and rather high. "It looks like he wants to try, so I'll leave it to you to make it another heated match!"

Kano nonchalantly walked into the room, followed closely by Kido who remained invisible. "Onee-san," he said, "Are you going to be my opponent?" Without waiting for an answer, he said, "I look forward to playing against you." and smiled.

Nervously, the girl with long black hair standing in front of the lit computers said, twiddling her thumbs as she spoke, "Uh... Yes... I look forward to playing with you too." She glanced at the shy boy near the door as she added, "I'll be explaining the rules so please come on in!"' Kano headed towards the computer, appearing to curiously gaze around the around the room though he was actually gazing at a nervous girl walking next to him."I'll do my best!" he heard the student behind him say to the boy at the door.

She walked over to Kano, startling Kido by being so close. "Umm," she started nervously. "I will now explain the rules!" Her voice shook as she began rambling. "In a moment, you'll be challenging me in the game that's there in the center. The one that earns the most points by taking down more enemies is the winner!" Kido moved away from her, walking around Kano to stand on his other side. "Simple, right?"The girl smiled, the corners of her lips shaking slightly.

"Ohh~" Kano said, his face lighting up. "Seems like fun! Even though they don't seem to be here... So, do you want to try Kido?

"Doesn't it? The girl said. "Hm?" She cocked her head to one side. "Kido? Who EEEK!" She suddenly noticed Kido, who had finally made herself visible. Her bangs were covering her eyes, making her face look darker than usual. She looked rather intimidating., especially with her rather apathetic expression. "Yeah..." Kido said, looking behind Takane, who was frozen where she stood, her eyes wide are two full moons.

"Ah, wh-wh-what?" She said, staring at Kido.

"Onee-san, are you okay?" Kano asking, glancing from Takane to Kido and back again. "Ah, if it's her you're wondering about, she's been here this whole time." He smiled. "She ind of has a weak presence so people often don't notice her-OUCH!" His sentence ended with a punch to the stomach from Kido.

Takane stills seemed nervous so Kido asked, "Could we hurry up and start already?"

"Y-Yes of course!" Takane said, plastering a smile on her face. "Please make your way to the back." She motion towards the seats a few feet behind her. She waited until Kido had sat down before taking the seat next to her. "U-um, we can set the game's difficulty, so which would you like?" she asked.

Kido looked at her. "Normal." she said, keeping her expression as blank as possible.

"Ah, okay! Of course!" Takane said, her voice shaking slightly. "My apologies! Now then-let's start!" she stuttered, half coughing on the last word. With an embarrassed expression on her face, she set the difficulty and hit start.

The two girls played head to head, Kido fell behind quickly, unable to keep up with Takane's quick aiming. The monsters came closer and closer to her, surprising her as they took up her entire screen before she could eliminate them.

Thirty seconds left to go. Surprisingly enough, she wasn't too far behind. She could win, if only she could stop Takane...

Her eyes turned red, glowing ever so slightly. On the screen, the creatures in front of Takane disappeared without being hit. Kido could still see them, immune to the invisibility brought on by her powers, so she shot at them, taking her time to aim and hit every single one while Takane watched her, shocked.

With fifteen seconds left, Takane started shooting randomly, hoping to hit a few of them before the timer ran out.

"Buzz!" the timer disappeared and so did the enemies. The screen changed, displaying the scores. Takane stared, shocked. She had won, but only by one hundred points.

"Hahaha! Looks like you lost, Kido." Kano said. Both girls had completely forgotten he was behind them. "But it'd be wrong if you won by cheating, right? You should apologize to onee-san." His voice was full of disappointment.

"Eh...?" Takane looked at Kido, who refused to meet her gaze.

"... I'm sorry." Kido said, small tears appearing at the corner of her eyes. She stood, turning away from Takane towards the door.

"Wait, cheating?" Takane asked, turning around to face Kido's back. "But that was an error with the game, so it wasn't her fault at all." Takane said, defending her.

"Sorry, onee-san." Kano said, his voice a little said. "You may not believe me, but earlier that girl used a psychic ability." He followed Kido towards the door. "You'll know if you check, but the game's not broken. It's fine. It should work without any problems next time, so don't worry." He waved goodbye before leaving.

"Ah... Just... what was that?" Kano heard Takane mumble to herself.

The boy outside the door gave them a strange look as they walked past. "UWAH!" he yelled, surprised when he saw Kido, causing Kido to blush. He disappeared into the room as Kano and Kido hid around the corner.

Kido disappeared again, staying by Kano's side but hiding her presence completely. People walked past them oblivious.

Kano was about to scold Kido about her cheating when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, surprised to see a text from Ayano.

'Meet me in front of classroom 3-B. It'll scare your socks off!'

Kano's wide eyes went over the words again and again, reading them in disbelief. The moment he dreaded was here. The haunted house.

Ayano wanted them to go to a haunted house.


	3. Chapter 3

The door to the classroom had been covered in black construction paper with red yarn making its way down like small streams of blood. Despite being a rather mild decoration, it still gave the door a sinister feeling.

Standing outside was a student dressed in a witch costume, holding a broom in one hand and nestling a black cat in the crook of her other arm. She wore a black dress that was shredded at the bottom and a plain black hat with a point that drooped slightly.

She looked rather bored until she saw Kano and Kido approaching. She instantly snapped into character, lowering the brim of her hat so it cast a shadow over her eyes. In a low, ominous-sounding voice, she said, "Welcome to the house of horrors. Are you two going in together?"

Kido instantly shrank back. Kano intended to go in alone and let her invisibly hide outside, but his plan was interrupted by a certain couple walking out the other door.

"Shuuya! Tsubomi!" Ayano exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at the sight of them. She ran over, dragging Shintarou behind her as usual. "You guys have to go in! It's really cool!" She was completely oblivious to Kido's paralyzing fear of haunted _anything_. She walked up behind them and gave both of them a small nudge towards the door, which had opened up to reveal the darkened classroom.

Beside him, Kano felt Kido shiver, despite the heat coming from beyond the door. As the two stepped forward, Kano slipped his hand into Kido's, wrapping his fingers around her shaking palm.

The wooden door closed slowly behind them, creaking to accentuate the sinister aura.

Muffled giggles echoed around the room. The rustling of fabric could be heard as the actors got in their places.

"L-Let's just get this over with quickly." she said, trying to hide her shaking voice. "I-I'm tired and I want to go home anyways." He could tell she was pretending not to be scared.

"Alright." Kano said, glad that she couldn't see the small smile playing on his lips. She'd punch him if she knew he found her bravado amusing.

Giving her shaky hand a small, reassuring squeeze, he took a step forward. On his right, he could feel the thin oak walls the class had constructed. He knew that someone could pop out from behind one at any moment.

Kido followed close behind him for the first few feet. She began to shake harder and harder with each step, the anticipation sending chills down her arms. She secretly feared that whatever jumped out at her would attack, like a rabid dog. Her eyes desperately searched the darkness for any signs of monsters or danger. Seeing nothing, her fears intensified. The unknown was always worst because you can never see the attack coming.

The first scare was a half-assed version of a ghost. The student, one of the female lower class men, was dressed in sheets with a "creepy" mask where her head should be. She jumped out from behind one of the poorly constructed walls and yelled "BOO!"

Beside him, Kano felt Kido stiffen. The hand that gripped his tightened to the point where his fingers immediately went numb. A sharp pain climbed up his arm, stopping at his elbow. This was worse than when she punched him.

At the next scare, Kido clenched her teeth to keep stray screams from escaping. She squeezed Kano's hand again, but not as hard this time. She was in a slight haze, like a soldier on a battlefield. The loud pounding of her heart drowned out any other sounds.

She kept walking, slowly, forcing one foot in front of the other. The adrenaline refused to let her pass out. A horned devil appeared in front of her, only to receive a reflexive punch to the stomach. Kano apologized multiple times in her stead, and winced as the devil crumpled to the floor. He understood that pain all too well.

The final scare was shrouded in artificial fog. Two students waited at the sides, one on the left, one on the right. Both of them simultaneously screamed and reached forward, closing their long, cold fingers around the ankles of their two victims.

Knowing Kido's reflex to attack whatever surprised her, Kano pulled Kido towards him, forcing her foot to remain off the ground long enough for the person's hand to slither back into the fog. He held on to her for a moment longer than necessary, his arms wrapped tight around her torso, until she elbowed his stomach. He bent over, but recovered quickly this time. He was getting WAY too used to her attacks.

The door was only a few feet ahead of them. As Kido reached for the doorknob, Kano felt the urge to whisper in her ear, "See you tonight,"in a low, creepy voice. He earned another elbow to the stomach for that, but it was worth it. He walked out behind her, grinning stupidly.

Ayano eyed him suspiciously as he appeared behind Kido, who sidestepped and turned to glare at him. Before Ayano could question their silent exchanged, Shintarou walked away, heading down the hallway Kano and Kido had just come from.

"Where are you going?" Ayano called after him.

"Game." he mumbled, barely loud enough for her to hear. He was already halfway down the hallway, staring down at his phone.

With one final, questioning glance at her two siblings, Ayano ran after him. "See you two at home!" she called back as she caught up with Shintarou.

As the two shrinking figures disappeared around the corner, Kido sank to the ground with a shaky sigh. Her heart was still pounding extremely fast.

Kano sat beside her, silently taking her limp hand. He gave it a reassuring squeeze while wrapping his other arm around her shoulders. She rested her head on his shoulder for a brief moment before suddenly sitting up, blushing as red as a tomato. She pulled her hand away and jumped to her feet, tugging her hood down and turning away from him.

"L-Let's go home." she said, trying to hide the embarrassment in her voice as she hurried down the hall.

Kano smiled and stood, watching her for a few seconds before shoving his hands in his pockets and leisurely following the hooded figure.


End file.
